


Blood in the Water

by MadHatter230



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, Compulsion is not consent, Damon Salvatore Bashing, Damon Salvatore Dies, Darkness, Doppelganger, F/F, F/M, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Magic, No Humanity (Vampire Diaries), No Means No, Overpowered Female Character, Protective Jeremy Gilbert, Stefan might survive this, Strong Female Characters, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Twins, We Hate Damon Here, Writing may be bad, You Have Been Warned, bear with me please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:15:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHatter230/pseuds/MadHatter230
Summary: You convinced yourself that this was necessary, this darkness.That it was the only way to survive, to grow stronger than those who hurt you.It consumed your mind, your heart, your soul.You let that power in, let it run in your every vein, let it make your eyes black as the night.ButMy darling-Don't lie to me.Don't tell me you didn't enjoy the fear in their eyes, the screams of the crowd.When you welcomed in the dark, don't tell me that it didn't feel so unbelievingly right.Because in the end, when that crown was placed on your head, you are a liar if you claim that it was necessary.NoThis was your plan all along-Wasn't it?-g.s.
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Kol Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Caroline Forbes/Original Female Character(s), Elijah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	1. Loss

Marjorie Gilbert stood beside her sister as their parents were lowered into the earth, anguish etched into every move they made. Tears were running down their faces and falling into the open grave.

Her kid aunt held her sister tightly in her arms trying her hardest to be strong for what was left of her family, despite the agony she was sure to be in. Marjorie held her younger brother in her arms as she watched the dirt pile on the two coffins.

The remaining Gilbert family placed flowers on the graves of Miranda and Grayson Gilbert, "Loving Parents" minutes after everyone had left.

Marjorie took several deep breaths as she struggled to slow her racing pulse, for now, was not the time to fall apart. Breathing with difficulty, she made her way to the car with Jeremy tucked in beside her, the way his body caved into itself making it easier than it should've been.

The drive home was filled with silence from Marjorie and Jeremy, Elena's sobbing accompanied only by Jenna's soft broken whispers. What was left of the Gilbert family made their way to the house that felt just as empty as the people left behind in it.

Jenna led a sobbing Elena up the stairs while Marjorie did her best to support Jeremy's weight as she made her way up the stairs to his room. Careful not to wake him she tucked him in as she used to when he was younger, and they spent almost all of their time together.

While tucking his hair behind his ear she saw the tear tracks his tears had left, a sadness lingering even in unconsiousness. As Marjorie turned to leave the room, she felt Jeremy grip her wrist weakly.

She turned to look at him, with questioning eyes. "Can you stay with me?" Jeremy asked his voice broken and almost childlike in its despair. Marjorie nodded and wrapped her arms around Jeremy as they grieved the parents they had just lost.

The rest of the school year was filled with pitying glances and heartfelt condolences. When summer finally arrived, it was spent indoors playing video games and reading when Caroline wasn't dragging them to the Grill. Despite being close before the tragedy that changed everything, after it they were almost inseparable.

Jeremy spent all his time reading the Gilbert journals with his favorite sister reading over his shoulder. Marjorie found herself dividing her time between shopping and eating at the grill with Caroline and locking herself in the house with her brother at her side. Elena spent all her time writing in the diary their mother had gifted her and visiting the cemetery every day.

Each found a way to keep on living, knowing that despite it all they still had each other, and they always would, even if they were vastly different people than they were before.

Eventually, summer would end, and others would move on from the tragedy that befell the Gilbert family...and perhaps the Gilberts could too.


	2. Salvatore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "all my grief says the same thing:  
> this isn't how it's supposed to be.  
> this isn't how it's supposed to be.  
> and the world laughs.  
> holds my hope by the throat.  
> says:  
> but this is how it is"  
> -Fortesa Latifi

The first day of school began with Marjorie missing her alarm clock and having to rush into the shower with only minutes to spare. She rushed out ten minutes later, grabbing whatever was easiest to put on from her closet. Jenna smirked at Marjorie's lack of color when it came to her clothes, watching amused as the girl ran up to Jeremy's room un-aware that Jeremy had left an hour ago.

Marjorie ran to Jeremy's room only to find he was already gone, huffed in annoyance and found herself driving to school, the last place she wanted to be at.  
~  
Twenty minutes later caffeine in hand, Marjorie made her way toward Mystic Falls glasses slightly slipping down her face as she sipped her coffee hoping to be elsewhere.

Ignoring the judgmental stares from some and concern from others, she popped two sticks of gum in her mouth. Marjorie arrived only to find Matt Donavon heading toward Elena as well.

"How are you?" Matt directed at Elena his eyes hiding none of his longing as Marjorie stared sympathetically. "Oh, it's so good to see you." Elena awkwardly stated as Marjorie looked away finding it too awkward to keep looking.

"How are they? Are they good?" Caroline Forbes rushed up to them staring at the Gilbert twins. "Caroline, you're smothering me, you know you saw me yesterday" "Care I'm right here and I'm fine, thank you." Both twins answered at the same time, one teasing and the other with a smile. Marjorie received a disapproving look from Elena, but Caroline smiled at Marjorie's tact.

"Really?" Caroline asked Elena looking slightly concerned. "Yes, much better," Elena said as Marjorie began to panic wondering if she had been enrolled in music class again.

She only began to pay attention when Elena and Bonnie began walking forward, walking slightly behind them as she realized Caroline had ditched her. "Hold up. Who's this?" Bonnie questioned as she took in the boy talking to the front desk secretary.

"All I see is back," Elena asked confused, while Marjorie began chipping away at her blue nail polish. "It's a hot back," Bonnie stated and now it was Marjorie's turn to look at the girl confounded. "I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie continued as Marjorie checked out the body in front of her.

Broad shoulders, tapered waist, not too bad. "Jeremy, good batch, man." Was all Marjorie heard, eyes widening as Elena began to walk angrily towards the boy's room.

"I'll be right back," Elena said as Marjorie followed close behind, shooting a wave in Bonnie's direction. "Whoa! Next down, chick." a guy said as Elena barged into the boy's restroom with Marjorie reluctantly in tow.

"I would go if I were, you," Marjorie told the boy who quickly nodded and left. "Great. It's the first day of school, and you're stoned." Elena ranted as Marjorie shrugged when Jeremy looked at her accusingly as if she had any control over Saint Elena.

"No, I'm not." Jeremy denied as Marjorie took in his glazed eyes and quirked an eyebrow at him. Elena began to pat Jeremy down trying to find his batch, "Where is it? Is it on you?" as Marjorie tilted her head as she watched on, the batch was actually on her, not that she would tell.

"Stop. Chill yourself, all right?" Jeremy said trying to calm his ranting sister. "Chill myself? What is that, stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool." Elena mocked.

"That's just the way his generation speaks Elena, leave him be" Marjorie spoke too tired to deal with Elena's dramatics so early in the morning. "Look, stop. I don't have anything. Are you crazy?" Jeremy accused trying to draw attention away from his favorite sister.

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy. I gave you a summer pass. But I am done watching you destroy yourself." Elena continued not noticing how Marjorie's eyes darkened. "No, you know what? Go ahead, keep it up. Just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time, you got it? Jeremy, I know who you are, and it's not this person. So, don't be this person." Elena ended her mini-rant as Marjorie lost the last of her patience.

"Elena, that's enough. He gets it, talking to him like this isn't helping anything. Go cool off, I'll deal with him." Marjorie sternly told her stepping in front of Jeremy as Elena stumbled back.

Speechless and frustrated Elena made her way out of the restroom only to bump into the guy with the hot back. Marjorie opened up her bag and took out eyedrops, mint gum, and concealer and handed them to Jeremy as he nodded his head in thanks.

"Try not to get caught next time, I can't come to your rescue every time, Брат. Your batch is safe with me, alright" Marjorie gently told Jeremy giving him a hug and a wink, turning only to bump into a boy. Stefan Salvatore wrapped his arms around her waist before she could fall. Marjorie thanked him as she stood up and managed to find her balance.

Stefan tilted his head in confusion, "Didn't I just talk to you?" he asked. "No, that must have been my sister Elena, I'm Marjorie but you can call me Mari," Marjorie stated as she began to walk out rummaging through her bag and muttered about it being too early to be alive at the same moment that Stefan smirked 5 feet away.

Mari made her way to Tanner's class, sitting in the back corner of the room as Tanner began to drone on about her favorite subject. "Once our home state of Virginia joined Confederacy in 1861 it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state."

"People in Virginia's Northwest had different ideas from those of the traditional deep South and Virginia divided."

~

Elena had headed straight to the cemetery and Mari had been tasked with picking her up after she had visited the library. Following the familiar path, she headed toward where she could hear her own voice and Stefan's voice, which was a surprise. She arrived only to hear, "Nice ring" slip out of Elena's mouth. "Oh. Uh. It's a family ring. Yeah. Kind of stuck with it. It's weird, huh?" was the awkwardly charming reply that came from Stefan.

Mari felt uncomfortable just standing there. "No. It's just I mean, there are rings, and then there's that" and so the painful conversation continued.

"Did you hurt yourself?" Stefan asked Elena as Marjorie's interest was peaked as was her worry. "Hmm?" Elena asked probably lost in Stefan's pretty green eyes, Mari imagined. "Did you hurt yourself?" he asked again.

"Oh, uh I don't know." Elena lifted the end of her pant leg to find a small but bloody scratch. "Oh, would you look at that? That is not pretty." She commented as Mari saw Stefan tilt his head away, a pained look crossing his eyes.

The greatest surprise came when Mari was sure she saw black veins pulse under Stefan's eyes and his pupils turn a darker color. Rubbing her eyes and backing away quickly Mari began to walk away and swiftly made her way back to her car, trying to make sense of what she had just seen, a small smile of disbelief on her face.

Shaking her head, she honked the horn and waited until she saw Elena limp toward the car and enter. Opening the side drawer, she handed her sister cotton and gauze to wrap her bloody leg.

The moment the door slammed, Mari hit the gas and made her way out of the cemetery.

Брат-brother in Bulgarian


	3. The Vampire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You think you are so much  
> Stronger than me because  
> The Earth quivers beneath  
> Your feet and your voice  
> Shakes the rain from the  
> Trees, but you forget that  
> Inside of this fragile body  
> Of mine is a soul as old as  
> Rome and just as powerful  
> And a tongue that cuts like  
> Razorblades on whips  
> K.C.

Mari slipped out of the clothes she had thrown on at random and into an outfit she didn't mind, as Caroline had demanded her presence to be mandatory at the grill. Moments before she made it to the door, Jenna was successful in getting a smile form her niece as she made her promise to get home at a timely hour. "Congrats Aunt Jenna, you are a responsible adult but I am afraid I can make no promises" Mari yelled while shooting Jenna a small grin and a thumbs-up as she made her way out the door and to her car. 

Mari walked into the grill a fresh pack of gum she had boughten to replace those she had given Jeremy. Gum in her mouth she made her way towards the table that Caroline, Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan were at. They were having fun interrogating Stefan, she noticed as she got close enough to hear them. "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" Caroline always was at the forefront. "Mm-hm. I moved when I was still young." He answered politely. "Parents?" "My parents passed away." He said with no emotion attached to the sentence as if it had happened long ago, which it probably had. "Any siblings?" "None that I talk to. I live with my uncle." Stefan evaded but as she had been looking for it, Mari caught it. 

"Any siblings that you don't talk to Stefan?" Marj asked catching Stefan slightly off guard. The others looked interested as Stefan nodded tersely. "Older brother." He answered wanting to move on. Caroline caught on and asked, "So, Stefan, if you're new, you don't know about the party tomorrow." Caroline smirked having given him an alternative he had to accept. "It's a back-to-school thing at the falls." Elena smiled looking at Stefan. "Are you going?" Stefan asked a smitten look in his eyes as he looked at Elena. "Of course, she is," Bonnie answered smugly.

~

Mari stared at Tanner as he rambled on about how 'The Battle of Willow Creek'. "How many casualties resulted in this battle? Miss Bennett?" Tanner smirked as he asked Bonnie who looked confused. "Um, a lot? I'm not sure. But, like, a whole lot." Bonnie answered smiling as Mari let her face fall into her hands. "Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett." Mari felt bad for her but Mr. Tanner wasn't wrong. "Mr. Donovan, would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your jock stereotype?" Tanner continued calling on the least likely to answer, as was his favorite pastime. 

"It's okay, Mr. Tanner. I'm cool with it." Whatever sympathy she had was quickly turning into embarrassment for her friends. "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most historical events." She hated to say it but there was a very small chance that Elena would know. "I'm sorry, I don't know." "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break." Tanner commented, he had always been an asshole. Mari raised her hand trying to remove the attention from her sister to her, and it worked as Tanner slightly smiled at one of the only students he didn't actively ridicule. "Perhaps at least one Gilbert can prove to be more than looks?" 

"There were 346 casualties," Mari answered despite being grossed out by the way the question was phrased. Elena looked betrayed which was confusing. "Correct as always, at least one of you has bothered to read the assigned chapter." "What about the civilian casualties?" Stefan ever the hero, at least with that hair he certainly seemed the part. "There were no civilian casualties in this battle, what's your name?" Tanner sneered at Stefan. 

"Stefan Salvatore and actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. And they were wrong. It was a night of great loss." Marj narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Stefan who tensed up at her intense stare. "The founder's archives are in Civil Hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts Mr. Tanner." Stefan continued encouraged by the grin Elena sent his way. When had Stefan had time to go through the founder's archives?

~

"Just admit it, Elena." Bonnie told the girl, as Mari wondered how she had once again let Caroline drag her to a social event despite how against it she felt. Her skin felt like a livewire ready to cause damage. "Okay, so he's a little pretty." Having gotten lost in her thoughts she had forgotten she was a witness to this sappy conversation. "He has that romance-novel stare. 'Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul.'" Bonnie abruptly stopped as Stefan walked up to them a small smirk on his lips. "Hey, you made it." Elena smiled hearts almost visible in her eyes at Stefan who soaked it all up.

By the sun and the moon where they so infatuated. Mari quickly found herself itching to get out of the situation and abruptly walked away before Elena could notice, sticking to the shadows making sure her twin was nowhere in sight. Everything seemed relatively tame until she came across Tyler Lockwood and Vicky Donovan.

"No, Ty, I'm not having sex against a tree." Vicky cried out as Tyler pushed her against a tree drunk off his ass and crossing too many boundaries. "Come on, it will be hot." He continued to try and persuade her. Mari began to clench her fists, Vicki was a decent person once you got to know her, and no one deserved this, especially not her."For who? No, it's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. Not here. Not like this. No. I said no. I said no. Ow. That hurts."

That was all it took for her to panic at Tyler's refusal to let Vicki go. She grabbed Tyler by the arm ripping him away from the terrified girl, accidentally sending him to the ground. She called Jeremy knowing he would be wandering about the forest. "Jer, I need you to locate me with the Find My Friend app, I need your help," "Give me two minutes and I'll be there, take care" her little brother demanded worry clear in his voice. 

True to his word Jeremy arrived quickly and convinced Vicky to go with him after Mari spent too much time convincing him she would be okay. "What in the hell where you thinking Tyler? We are going to get you water because quite frankly you look like death warmed over. But let me warn you if I ever see you touch anybody like that again, I swear to all the gods I'll put you in a body bag myself" Mari quietly scolded Tyler as she held onto his arm tugging him along but quickly letting it go terrified when she felt it break under her firm grip.

Her first instinct was to run, he had broken so easily under her hands. "Now let's take you to Matty, I'm sorry about your arm not that you don't deserve some pain but not by me and not like this."

Mari gripped Tyler by the back of his neck as gently as she could to make sure he wouldn't fall and found that her strength was as it was always and she had probably imagined Tyler's arm breaking because of her. She dragged him until she saw Matt at which point, she pushed him into Matt's arms careful not yet sure if she had imagined it being her grip that had hurt him so easily. Matt looked up shocked and slightly worried at how Tyler's wrist looked. "I just thought you should know Matt that I found Tyler holding your sister up against a tree" Mari frowned still upset as Matt let go of Tyler and let him fall to the floor looking at him with anger clear in his eyes.

"By the way, someone should probably take him to the hospital I think his arm is broken probably from when he hit the ground earlier." The girl next to Matt quickly pulled out her phone and dialed 911 as Mari walked away looking for Vicky as she had escaped her brother. Sighing in frustration, she pulled out another stick of gum, the other having lost flavor when she had dragged Tyler through the forest.

"There you are Vicky, where the hell have you been." Mari looked at the young girl whose eyes had widened, fear filling them. A dark-haired man with bloodshot red eyes stood behind Mari, a manic grin showcasing his fangs, ready to cause havoc.

In that moment, the dark-haired stranger, attacked Vicki Donovan, without an ounce of remorse. The man lifted his head from Vicki's neck and watched Mari freeze before he grabbed her harshly and brought his eyes to her, his mouth in a bloody smirk as he compelled her. She really was a carbon copy of Katherine, curls framed almost the same. "Keep your mouth shut, unless you want this poor girl dead. You're going to go home and forget this ever happened, and don't you even think about screaming" he compelled her before savagely ripping into her neck.

Taking his warning seriously, Mari swallowed her screams, tears filling her eyes at the pain. She struggled against him fruitlessly yet he never faltered remembering how Katherine felt in his arms and losing himself in the similarities. He only stopped when he heard footsteps and Jeremy's shouts for Vicky. Only then did the vampire speed off into the night, having no care for his victims.

Feeling weak from the blood loss Mari fell to the forest floor, eyes falling shut as she struggled to not lose consciousness. Jeremy found Vicki Donovan's body on the forest floor next to that of his sister. What felt like an eternity later did Mari wake up to find herself in a hospital room, Aunt Jenna and Jeremy both asleep in chairs to her left.

Sheriff Forbes was there, notepad at the ready as she asked her if she could explain what had happened. " I was looking for Vicky. She was supposed to be with my brother but he texted me saying she had run off on her own and considering how dangerous the woods can be when sober, I went looking for her and I heard screaming so I headed in that direction. Next thing I know I'm on the forest floor trying to stay awake" she lied knowing if she said the truth it would not be taken seriously. 

Sheriff Forbes smiled at her tersely, giving her a light hug and walking out to meet a deputy. Mari felt Jeremy climb into the hospital bed tucking her into his side, refusing to get out when the nurse scolded him. "Elena went to go get you a new pair of clothes last night and she must've fallen asleep at home. So you'll have to remain in that stunning hospital gown" Jenna teased her niece as she wrapped her arms gently around Mari. "Caroline will be arriving in about ten minutes so be prepared to share Jer!" Jenna smirked at Jeremy who only snuggled into Mari's side. "She'll have to fight me for it!" he joked smiling down at Mari. 

"Aw, you'll risk Caroline's wrath for me Брат? Oh the bravery, the courage!" Mari giggled as Jeremy's eyes crinkled in laughter. The serene atmosphere was shattered ten minutes later by Caroline who pushed Jeremy out of her way in her haste to get to her best friend. Jeremy was left on the floor, too shocked to move. "My knight so easily vanquished!" Mari gasped in mock surprise trying to contain her laughter. 

Only then did Caroline realize she had bypassed Jeremy by shoving him to the ground, she grinned sheepishly at him as Jeremy found himself laughing causing Mari and Jenna to join him. The blonde pouted which only served to make them laugh harder at her put-out expression. "It's fine Caroline, I would've probably done the same" Jeremy reassured her once he had stopped laughing.

Jenna was told to go to college by both Mari and Jeremy and found herself leaving but promising to show up later. Elena showed up around ten with Mari's clothes and Stefan by her side. Mari hugged her sister back but gave Stefan a stoic nod that left both Stefan and Elena frowning. "Thanks for visiting me and bringing me my clothes Lena and uh nice of you to join her Stefan." Aware of the tense atmosphere, Caroline herded Elena and Stefan from the room convincing them to join her at the grill where she was heading to get Mari food. And so the rest of the day continued with laughter and joy, both Jeremy and Caroline ditching school choosing to stay with Mari.

When night fell Mari found herself unable to sleep, unlike Jeremy and Jenna who found someway to sleep in the horrible hospital chairs. Closing her eyes brought her back to the moment when she was attacked. She had never felt so helpless and weak, she hated the way he had held her to his body, almost nuzzling his face into her neck. She could still feel his bruising grip and the fear that settled in her bones. His touch made her skin itch, remembering it made her want to peel her skin from her bones. She hated this monster she did not know because he had reveled in her pain, found pleasure in her fear. Sleep was no longer an escape and perhaps this she resented him for most.


	4. Harbinger of Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> god should have made girls lethal  
> when he made monsters of men.  
>  -e.h.

She would be lying if she said she didn’t expect to see Stefan so soon, it was clear to her that he would be the one to attempt to fix the mess of others like him, he so obviously wanted to be near Elena. What she didn’t expect was him telling her that she was attacked by an animal and that it was all she remembered, so she did what she had done with the other monster, agreed so that he could leave her be. It seemed to be a type of power the monsters believed themselves to have over her, it was better to allow them that belief then risk her life.

Overall she was glad to be going home, it had taken her a day and a half to get cleared. It still meant she would miss two days of school, Tanner had probably assigned work and would expect it on his desk the day of her return. She arrived home courtesy of sheriff Forbes catching up to Jeremy who was moments away from opening the door.   
“I thought they were keeping you until tomorrow, I was just about to ask aunt Jenna if she could drop me off.” He smiled at her tugging her forwards into a tight hug. “They just needed to make sure the bite wasn’t infected, but if you want we can head out to grab some food later?” she murmured face smushed up against his shoulder. “Maybe tomorrow, you should rest some more before you brave the outside world, survivor!” Jeremy teased tapping her nose. 

“That’s real cute Jer!” she scowled pushing him through the door, locking it behind her. We only made it a couple of steps before aunt Jenna called out “I picked up dinner. Tacos. I had an urge for guacamole.” “No, I'm good, thanks.” “You got enough guacamole right?” Mari asked as her brother sent her a blank look. “Eat anyway. It's a ruse. I want to talk. And I think I got enough, Sheriff Forbes called me after you got let off but you can have Jeremy’s since he doesn’t want any.” Jenna smiled and passed the tacos along with the container of guacamole. With Jenna’s attention on Mari, Jeremy tries to leave.

“Hey, you! Come. Sit beside your sister. Back in school, freshman year, I could eat my weight in nachos, with extra cheese. It was my munchie food whenever I got stoned.” Jenna smiled her attention solely on Jeremy. “You get high?” he smiled, laughing lightly as he turned to see Mari practically inhaling the tacos piled with guacamole.

“Did. Past tense. But, yeah. Loved it. Anything to get a little distraction from life...reality. And it worked. For a while. Never lasts, though. Hey, I'm not saying I wouldn't love to rail back and kick it, but with a thesis looming and a waistline expanding…” Jeremy gets up the moment aunt Jenna turns her back to him, turning back only to see him leaving. 

She sighs and sits beside Mari, preparing her own tacos. “I’m guessing you hated the hospital food?” she laughs. “These are really good, especially after hospital food. Don’t worry so much Aunt Jenna, I’ll make sure he does his homework today, how was the meeting with Tanner? I hope he wasn’t too brash, though he usually is.” She asked finishing up her tacos. 

“It was not as bad as I had expected, he told me that while Jeremy isn’t doing as well as he was before his grades have only slightly dropped, but with you working with him he’s slowly returning to his average from before. He said it was surprising how well adjusted we all were since raising three kids is an impossible task, and he made a couple of digs at me but nothing I can’t handle.” “Well, it wouldn’t be Tanner if he didn’t insult you in some way, but I’ll make sure to continue the Thursday study group with Caroline.” Mari smiled at her aunt smiled gently back at her. “Come on, let's redo your bandage, I passed by the store earlier to get the supplies. You should replace it two to four times a day, especially if it starts bleeding again or gets wet.” Jenna leads her to the bathroom and replaces the dressing with a clean one with gentle hands.

“I think you should go upstairs and rest, by the way, I left the work Tanner assigned on your desk, he says it's due the day after you return.” Mari smiles at her aunt and makes her way up the stairs and into her room where she crawls underneath her covers too tired to change out of her clothes. “Move over, you’re hogging all the space” Jeremy whines nudging her from the center of the bed startling her from sleep. “Jer! I was just about to fall asleep you jerk, hospital beds are so uncomfortable, and mine isn’t!” she groans but moves nonetheless. He grins at her, eyes slightly glazed over. 

“You know that’s not fair Jer, you know I’m on pain meds. Why are you tempting me with your high?” Mari lamented her injury further as Jeremy only closed his eyes and begun to doze off. She fondly rolled her eyes and got up to do the work Tanner had left for her, it was only two readings and around twenty chapter questions.   
She had just finished both assignments when Jeremy woke up and badgered her to go downstairs with him to grab snacks so they could watch a movie. “Jeremy where have you been? I checked your room?” aunt Jenna asked when we made our way into the kitchen. “Relax, aunt Jenna he knocked out in my room while I worked on homework.” Mari gripped her aunt’s shoulders standing in front of Jeremy. 

Jenna’s expression relaxed, realizing she hadn’t checked Mari’s room thinking the girl had been asleep. “That’s my bad, and it explains why you came down the stairs” Jenna laughs realizing her mistake. “Did you remember to buy the chips?” Jeremy asks headed for the pantry. Jenna makes an affirmative noise just as Jeremy walks out with a large bag and a sealed bag of popcorn. “What are you two up to?” Elena asks head tilted to the side. “Just gonna watch the order of the phoenix” Mari’s face a mix of anticipation and dread. 

“You can both join us if you want, but we’ll probably have to move it to the living room?” Mari offers as Jenna and Elena both nod and everyone begins to move into motion, movie nights a regular occurrence. It’s two and a half hours later that a teary Gilbert family make their way to their rooms to sleep, sad over the death of one Sirius Black.  
-  
Marjorie is dragged out of bed by a loud and energetic Caroline Forbes, who brings her out to hand flyers for the comet, an event she might attend. It’s only when she stares at Caroline determinately walk forward that her attention is caught. She feels the air in her lungs stutter as the monster that attacked her stands feet from Caroline. A strange sensation fills her fingertips as she watches Caroline stride towards the monster, her fingers form a fist as Caroline falls back.

The monster is gone when she looks back up and she hurries to help a grumbling Caroline to her feet. “I keep seeing him, but he’s always gone just before I can catch up!” she complains, pouting at Mari. “Maybe it's for a reason Care, he looks like bad news, you know besides looking like six years older than you.” She warns her, her warning falling on seemingly empty ears. She sighs and makes her way to her car, ready to go back home.   
-  
She finds her way into the Mystic Grill where she finds a seat with her brother. “So I overheard Jenna talk to Elena about maybe searching your room so I moved your weed stash to my room, but I swear if I find anything stronger I’ll rat you out to aunt Jenna myself Jer.” Jeremy clasps her hands with his in a thankful prayer with a grateful smile on his lips. “You’re a godsend, best sister I could have asked for.” He laughs ruffling her hair.

He tugs her out of her seat, to drag her outside only to bump into Vicki. “Vicki, what are you doing here?” he asks her as both he and Mari look at her concerned. “Fighting with Robert about my schedule. You'd think getting ripped up by a rabid animal would merit an extra sick day.” She laments. “Are you feeling ok?” he asks looking at the bandage that matches that of his sister. “I hurt.” She groans. “Well, the doctor gave you something, right? They gave Mari some pretty strong pain meds” Jeremy asks turning to his sister who nods in concern. “The kid stuff. Nothing with an "o" in it. I think they were on to me.” Vicki tells them both conspiratorially.

“I can give you some if you actually use them for the pain Vicki?” Mari offers knowing the bite actually stings quite a bit. Vicki nods gratefully and takes the small bag taking one into her mouth and putting the remaining five into her bag. Mari smiles at her, each pill was 5mg so one was low. She would tell Matt later on, he could be sneaky if the occasion called for it. 

Tyler walked up to them, his arm wrapped keeping a safe distance from Mari. His arm had apparently not been broken simply sprained with extensive bruising, it had been a nasty fall last she heard. “Hey, Vick. How are you feeling?” “Like you care.” The girl made her way past him scoffing. “What are you lookin' at, Gilbert?” he takes a step towards Jeremy, faltering when Mari takes a step forward. Jeremy smirks and drags his sister outside before Tyler and her can say a word. She wanders away from him when she sees Caroline, promising to catch up with him later. “You made it! I thought I was gonna have to go drag you from your house again” Caroline teases handing her a candle. She stares at the faint blush on Care’s face as she brings her candle’s flame to her own. Observing their twin flames as she smiles at Caroline, whose eyes seem to soften bringing out the green flecks in her blue eyes. 

Stefan’s voice catches her attention, as she walks closer to them, shooting Care a small wave. She lingers near enough to hear them but far enough to be out of sight, though she doubts Stefan will try anything in a crowd. 

“You know, that comet...it's been traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone.” He tells Elena leaning toward her. “Yeah, Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil.” Like him and the dark-haired monster. “I think it's just a ball of...snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home. I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself.” Mari’s interest was peaked, what had happened yesterday that had made Elena lose interest or at least try to lose it.  
“You seem to spend a lot of time apologizing.” “Well, I have a lot to apologize for. Yesterday, that wasn't about you, ok?” he looked sorrowful. “You didn't tell me that your brother was in Mystic Falls.” Mari felt her hands start to shake, so the man who had attacked her was Stefan’s brother, there was hardly a resemblance but it made sense as to why Stefan felt compelled to clean up his brother’s mess. “We're not close. It's, uh...it's complicated.” “Always. He told me about your ex. Katherine.” Elena sounded hurt. 

“What did he say?” “That she broke your heart.” “That was a long time ago.” Mari wondered just how long ago, decades or centuries? “When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt,” Elena tells him her voice filled with sorrow. Stefan steps in front of her a frown on his lips “Elena...”  
“It's ok, Stefan. I get it. You have no idea how much I get it. Complicated family? Check. Complicated ex? Check. Too complicated to even contemplate dating, double-check. It's ok. We met, and we talked, and it was epic, but...then the sun came up and reality set in. So...” Elena shrugs and blows her candle out as she walks away.  
-  
Mari walks into the Mystic Grill with Elena and Caroline near a table with Tyler when Jeremy rushes up to them. “Hey, has anyone seen Vicki? Robert was looking for her about her schedule.” Jeremy asks concerned. “You're her stalker. You tell us.” Tyler glares at Jeremy. “I can't find her.” He continues without acknowledging Tyler. “She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced.” He tells Jeremy smiling.

“What's with the pill pusher?” Elena asks Tyler quietly. “Ask him.” He nods in Jeremy’s direction. “You wanna do this right now?” Jeremy glares at Tyler. “Are you dealing?” Elena asks a frown on her face. “No, he isn’t Elena. He didn’t give Vicki anything, I shared some of my pain meds with Vicki, the hospital didn’t give her the same stuff because of her mom and the bite actually hurts quite a bit.” Mari spoke above Tyler who turned to meet her glare and moved his arm away from her. “She's never gonna go for you,” Tyler told Jeremy seriously. “I never said she would, but if she did it would be with her consent.” Jeremy sneers at the boy sitting down. “Jeremy wouldn’t force someone into it, unlike some people. Isn’t that right Tyler” Mari stands at Jeremy’s side leaning toward Tyler who leans back.

“You’re lucky Vicki didn’t want to press charges because you were both drunk. She thought your sprained arm was punishment enough” Matt tells Tyler voice low. Mari glares at Tyler who leans further away, as everyone at the table looks at how he maintains his distance. “Thanks by the way” Matt gives Mari a half hug when the rest of the table looks from Tyler’s arm to Mari and back again. “ Now, how about the rest of you help me find my sister?” Matt asks. “We'll check the back.” Bonnie tells him and leaves with Caroline.

“I'll check the square,” Matt tells the remaining people as Jeremy offers to go with him. She goes to follow when Elena pulls her back. “Why on Earth would you give Vicki, pain meds you know her mom’s an addict and there are enough rumors about her that you shouldn’t be giving her any,” Elena demands. “Elena, Jeremy’s friends with her. The hardest drug she’s doing is weed, Matt checks her enough to make sure of that. Besides the bite actually does hurt and what they’ve got her on isn’t going to do much. The dosage is also low and she only took one, which means she can take one now and then another in about five to six hours.” Elena sighed in relief before heading out to look for Vicki. Mari turns in the opposite direction and walks out to see Matt and Stefan talking when Stefan stiffens and begins to walk in another direction.

Mari follows him at a distance, the noise of others covering her own. His senses seem dulled for a monster allowing her to follow him with ease even when there is no longer a crowd. She watches him rush to the top of a building where the other monster holds Vicki by the edge. She runs to the other side of the building as they began to talk, careful to not make noise. 

“What's happening?” Vicki sounds panicked. “I don't need her to be dead, but...you might.” he taunts Stefan. “What attacked you the other night?” he asks Vicki. “I don't know. An animal.” She sounds unsure, her voice small. “Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you?” he questions her. “A vampire.” “Who did this to you?” he raised his voice at her. “You did!” her voice is filled with revulsion. “Wrong!” “Don't.” Stefan pleads. “It was Stefan.” He tells her as Stefan asks him not to.

“Stefan Salvatore did this to you.” He tells Vicki, it becomes obvious that they are at odds, maybe Stefan isn’t the same type of monster. “He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster.” He tells her. “Please, Damon. Please don't do this.” Stefan begs the monster who now has a name. “If you couldn't fix it before, I don't know what you can do now.” The monster sounds smug.

“Ugh! Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that.” So he isn’t the same type of monster but a monster nonetheless. “You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming "vampire" through the town square.” His voice incites a need to harm him, to burn the light from his eyes.

“That's what this is about? You want to expose me?” Stefan asks incredulously. “No! I want you to remember who you are!” he scoffs in irritation. “Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart because at least I'll be free of you.” Stefan spits at his brother voice firm in its anger. “Huh. Huh. Wow. Come here, sweetheart.” It seems Vicki does not want to despite the reassurances of the monster.

“What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open. Ugh...” she sounds better, he must’ve done something to her. She assures Stefan she’s ok until Mari can no longer hear her. “It's good to be home. Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?” the very thought of it brings her fear and so much rage, her entire body feels on edge, her fingers feel hot. “What are you up to, Damon?” Stefan asks the monster. “That's for me to know and for you to...dot dot dot. Give the twins my best, won’t you?” the mere mention of her existence on the monster’s tongue makes her hands feel alight.

She can only hear a male grunt of pain before it becomes a long shout of pain that fills her with glee. His screams are soon joined by Stefan’s loud questions about what’s wrong that snap her from her haze. She makes her way far from them, stunned by the smoke lingering on her otherwise normal hands. It’s with both a sense of glee and fear that she stumbles her way home passing Jenna and heading into her room. 

Mari smiles as she remembers his screams, remembers how he had silenced her own and how she had reveled in his. Maybe Bonnie’s grams was onto something, she would have to pay her a visit soon.


End file.
